1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of fire detection and more specifically relates to a system and method using several spaced sensors that measure the concentration of gaseous carbon dioxide for detecting the onset of a fire in a building as early as possible and with a minimum of false alarms.
2. The Prior Art
The fire detectors that are available commercially today fall into three basic classifications, namely flame sensing, temperature sensing, and smoke-sensing. These respond, respectively, to the luminous flame, the heat, and the smoke that almost always accompany fires.
In U.S. Pat. application No. 07/503,215, the present inventor proved the existence of a fourth category, namely carbon dioxide sensors, which are based on the recognition that in most fires, the fuel is organic material which is oxidized in the combustion process with the concomitant production of carbon dioxide.
Typically, flame sensors, temperature sensors, and smoke sensors have been developed and installed as separate stand-alone independent sensors. This may result from the fact that in many applications, such as small rooms in a house, a single sensor is capable of providing a minimal degree of protection. That is, most of the sensors that are sold are installed on a one-per-room or one-per-building basis. Accordingly, less attention was devoted to using more than one sensor per room or per building.